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THE COMING TSUNAMI
CORRECTION
Why an Ideological Rebalancing of the
Congress is almost certain....
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The 60/40 senate juggernaut was formed in
the 2008 “red to blue” election when eight seats changed parties from
Republican to Democrat. This left the
Democratic caucus - that includes independents Lieberman (
In this year’s election, only 16 Democratic seats are up. For purposes of this discussion, I’ll consider the 18 Republican seats to be safe.
Given current polling trends, we can reasonably expect the House to change ideology, but not necessarily party control this November. The key to my assessment is that the remaining Blue Dog contingent in the House are going to be more and more willing to defy the current leadership on behalf of their local constituents.
The populist, anti-incumbent, anti-elite mood is as intense as any current political observer can recall...and it is growing.
The race to watch is the
special senate election in
Note to liberal Democrats: You are in denial if you continue to misread the current trend as a blind reaction to the recession, because it is, at core, a knowledgeable reaction to liberal excesses. It represents the desertion of a supermajority of independents, driven by revulsion, fear and - dare I say it? – hope. The leftwing hubris of the congressional party leaders, Reid and Pelosi have created a teaching moment for the Democrats, to wit: that independent Blue Dogs are your indispensable internal check and balance against going over the cliff. The independent voters got the lesson. Democrats may need to learn it the hard way.
Note to conservative Republicans: You are on probation. Scott Brown’s surge is fueled by a populist, anti-establishment mood, to be sure, but it has moved the needle much farther in this blue state because Brown is presenting as an intelligent, good-government conservative, rock solid on the conservative issues that unite Americans, but with a lighter touch on the divisive issues, as a kinder, more gentle Rudy Giuliani, if you will.
The
So the real question
becomes this: Is there a scenario in
which the 2010 elections could produce an effective conservative Senate coalition, composed of independents, Blue Dog
Democrats and Republicans?
Open seats held by Democrats include: the late Senator
Kennedy’s seat in
To this short list we can now add the “preemptive
retirement” seats held by Chris Dodd in
In the Democrats’ nightmare worst case, the only truly
“safe” incumbent seats are Inouye of Hawaii and Schumer in
I say nominal control
because Blue Dog Democrats will undoubtedly rediscover the political value of
striking out on an independent path when Republicans regain 15-30 seats (39
would shift control).
Recall that the
Public opinion cannot be ignored for two years. We can reasonably predict that enough conservative and fiscally prudent Blue Dog Democrats will emerge in the November congressional elections to restore the House to its traditional center-right orientation whether or not the Democrats lose control.
On the Senate side, a new majority leader will be in play, either way, and the remaining Democrat senators (probably a greatly reduced majority) will no longer be willing to buck public opinion.
On
JBG